76. Severity Of The Situation

He couldn't stand the tense silence anymore. The agony of losing his wife was creating havoc in his system, making him desperate. It's either Clarice fell into the water or she was held captive by someone and held in their cabins. He needed to know what truly happened to her, or he would go crazy. He left the room and went to find the captain of the cruise ship. "I want to find my wife. I want to know if there is a killer on the loose boarding this ship, or if she has fallen into the sea. I want clear answers!" he demanded angrily. The captain fell silent for a moment, then spoke, "What do you want to do, sir?" "I want to search every single room on this ship to make sure no one is keeping my wife in his or her room. That's the only way I can be assured that she was not taken advantage of and not imprisoned in someone's room and held against her will," he said accusingly. The captain scratched his head in dismay. "Um, I have to warn you, sir. Not everyone will allow their rooms to be searched. Some will get mad if we intrude on their privacy," he protested. "If they are innocent and willing to help me, they will allow the search. It doesn't take an hour to search every room. We will do it quickly," Alpha Callum insisted. No time to waste, every minute counts. "Alright, how are we going to do it? You want me to create a team on every deck to search every cabin?" the captain asked. "No. Just assign four people to help me with the search, so it will only take a few minutes. The search process must be thorough and quick," Alpha Callum said, his tone serious and authoritative. The captain finally agreed. "OK, I will volunteer to be one of the team members to make the guests feel at ease. Give me a moment to give everyone a notice. We just can't order everyone to rush back to their rooms at once," he argued. "But this is the best time to do it because it's still early morning and the people are still in their cabins, probably getting ready to go out and explore the ship. So now is the perfect time. Those who refuse to have their rooms searched are guilty. They'd better agree to the search because it's for security reasons. My wife is missing. We need to hurry up!" Alpha Callum insisted, his eyes burning with apprehension and desperation. The captain was still hesitating for a minute. "If you lost your wife, your father, mother, son or daughter on a cruise ship you will understand why I'm acting this way," he added, intentionally poking at the captain's compassion. "OK, sir. Let's do it your way. Give me a few minutes to announce to everyone that they need to stay in their cabins for a while to comply with the search," the captain said with a nod of his head, finally sympathizing with the grieving husband whose wife went missing while on board the cruise ship he was sailing. "Thank you for your understanding, sir," Alpha Callum replied grimly. He looked so calm and composed outside, but deep inside his self-control was diminishing. He would love to scold the captain for his lack of initiative, but he was also aware that he was not in his own territory. Humans don't listen to his commands at the snap of his fingers. He released a deep sigh. He was getting restless. "I will leave in a few minutes to announce the search," the captain said. "Yes, please and make it quick. Thank you," Alpha Callum said politely. The captain quickly left his office to make the announcement. A few minutes later, the captain's assistant entered the room holding a tray with coffee and croissants. He placed it on the table in front of the grieving husband. "Sir, please eat something. You need food and nourishment to help you survive your ordeal. I'm sorry for what happened to your wife. I wish you would find her soon," he said, his tone filled with empathy. "Thank you for your compassion," Alpha Callum said despondently. "If you need anything, sir, I'm just behind the door, ready to help and assist you. Please drink your coffee before it gets cold," the assistant said, and left the room. The aroma of coffee drifted through Alpha Callum's nostrils, arousing his hunger. His stomach began growling. He realized that he hadn't had a proper sleep yet, and he was hungry. He picked up the croissant and began eating. By the time he finished sipping his hot coffee, the captain was back in the room. "Sir, I already finished the announcement. I had already gathered four of my crew to help us with the search. Where do you want us to start searching?" the captain asked. "How many presidential suites are there?" Alpha Callum asked. "A total of 10 presidential suites, sir," the captain answered. Alpha Callum stood up. "Let's start with the presidential suite." "OK, let's go," the captain replied. And the thorough search for Clarice's whereabouts had just begun. Alpha Callum, together with the captain and his team, search the cabins from top to bottom. No cabins were spared, they even searched the rooms of the staff. The passengers were very supportive and helped speed up the process by readily opening the door to their rooms, their closets, bathroom, shower so that the search team could perform their search quickly and efficiently. In fairness, everyone was understanding and supportive of the search because they also wanted to know what happened to the missing wife. The search lasted the whole day and everyone on Alpha Callum's search team was exhausted. Unfortunately, their search ended in vain. They didn't find Clarice on board the ship. "The search party my assistant organized on board the small boat to find your wife in the sea has returned, and I'm sorry to say they failed to find your wife in the ocean. I'm so sorry," the captain said apologetically. Alpha Callum's world crumbles down. Deep inside he was bleeding in despair and misery. All efforts to find Clarice ended with negative results. It was time for the crew to rest after a tiring search. "Thank you, guys, for helping me with the search. Now I can finally conclude that my wife has either fallen accidentally into the sea or someone intentionally threw her into the sea. That's the only conclusion I can think of right now," he said in a somber tone. "I'm deeply sorry for your loss," the captain said in distress, sighing heavily. The tragedy weighed heavily on his shoulders. He was deeply troubled that such a painful and life-altering tragedy had befallen the couple, who only wished to celebrate their wedding anniversary. He felt shaken by the tragedy. If only the CCTV camera in that area hadn't malfunctioned, they would already have a clear answer by now. He needs to scold the officer in-charge of those CCTV cameras and make sure all cameras inside the ship are functioning well, starting today and onward. "Thank you for your help, Captain. I appreciate it very much," Alpha Callum said, feeling disappointed with the negative result of their search. The captain nodded his head somberly. "We are glad to be of help to you. We are deeply sorry for your loss," he said, his tone filled with sympathy. Alpha Callum left the captain's office with a heavy heart. He proceeded to the suite and lay down on the bed in a fetal position. An avalanche of tears sprang from his eyes and flowed freely down his cheeks. He was pissed at himself. He failed to protect and keep his wife safe. What kind of husband is he? He is a useless husband! He pounded the bed with his fist several times. He felt angry and miserable, but he eventually realized that even if he managed to destroy the whole room, Clarice was still missing, and he had no idea where to find her. The worst thing may have happened already. She might already be dead by now, drowned in the water and eaten by a shark just like those missing people who jumped into the water during their cruise ship holiday and never resurfaced again. His life with Clarice was so perfect... He never expected such a tragedy to occur in the middle of their wedding anniversary celebrations. This whole incident is like a nightmare that unfolds in a dream. He was desperately hoping that all this was just part of a dream, and he would wake up the next day to see his wife lying beside him on the bed, alive and well. But the truth hurts. Clarice disappeared without a trace and may never return to his side alive again. Agonizing hours went by. Thick silence enveloped the room. He could no longer stay on this ship any longer. This place reminded him so much of the tragedy. He needed to go home to inform everyone about what happened to his wife. He packed his bags and when the ship docked at their next destination, he immediately left the ship, checked into the nearest motel, and from there teleported straight into Grandpa Eliezer's farm to inform him of the bad news about Clarice's disappearance.